Rin de Kyuunintai Kitsune
by Yashodoa
Summary: Rin and the Nine Kitsune Brothers' SessRin, canon to the series, parody of Snow White. This is for my beloved Rin's Waiting readers.
1. Rin's New Home

InuYasha Fan Fiction

**_Rin de Kyuunintai Kitsune_** (Rin and the Nine Kitsune Brothers)

PG - Drama/Romance - Rin/SesshoMaru - Post Series/Canon Universe/Parody of Snow White by the Brother Grimms

Lady Yashodoa

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Chapter One – Rin's New Home

The life in Sengoku Jidai went on, war erupted here and there, and it was just the normalcy for the people and demon alike. Many villages were ransacked, rebuild and destroyed once again, it was like a cycle.

The only difference, the Shikon no Tama no longer existed, for it was all gathered and restored. Naraku, one of the most villainous hanyou, known in the entire demon lore was finally defeated, destroyed by the combination of an inu-hanyou, a Miko from another land, the last remaining taijiya, a perverted monk and a young kitsune.

The story of InuYasha faded away, becoming a legend and finally into a myth over the age. It won't be until the Nanban Trading Period that the demons started to withdraw, fading away into the background of the legend and myth as well. The foreigners came and the world suddenly became bigger, and that was when the four taiyoukai daimyo lords agreed that it was best for them to adapt a newer lifestyle.

It seemed impossible for the taiyoukai daimyo lords to change their mind about human. But indeed, it all started with one, the most powerful taiyoukai lord of the West, SesshoMaru. He was known throughout the age that he despites human, battled with his half brother, a hanyou because he was simply a hanyou, a mixture of human and demon. It was like that for long time until he came across a little human girl. A simple act of reviving her life set the change in the stoic taiyoukai lord of the West.

Her name is Rin; she was born in the middle of winter, for all she knew as her mother told her the tale before she died. The day she was born, snow was falling softly down from heaven. Her mother had wished for a daughter and her wish was granted, a child born, skin pale like porcelain, a skin worthy of a Hime, her eyes are soft brown, like doe's, full of innocent and joy. Her hair was ebony, much like midnight upon a moonless night and her lips were red, red like rose, sweet and full.

Upon her sixth summer, her life as a simple common girl ended at the teeth and claws of the wolves to begin anew at the blade of a cold taiyoukai. Like a faithful puppy, she followed the taiyoukai all over Japan, never once complaining or wavering.

As she approached her eleventh winter, her Lord SesshoMaru stopped in the middle of the forest. The snow was falling down gently, blanketing Japan white. He turned to her, studying her profile as she stood there, waiting for his response. She knew better to not say anything. She had grown from an innocent girl, entering womanhood. Her figure was changing, she grew taller, nearly reaching SesshoMaru's breastplate, her figure was starting to lose the child's, morphing into the womanly curves.

She huddled the furry Michiyuki around her body, warding off the cold air. Her pale skin flushed and she smiled upon him, her wide brown eyes shining under the frame of ebony hair that fell around her face in wild tresses. She looked as if she belonged there, standing in the snow, like a dryad of the winter forest. The fur of her Michiyuki was white while the thick padded silk were of deep red, patterned with pink sakura, promising spring to come soon.

Lord SesshoMaru was actually heading back to the western land; however, he had just made a detour to a neighboring village. The Western land was in trouble, for the foreigners decided to siege his palace, try to usurp his position as the Lord. He had then decided, it was not best for Rin to return with him but to leave her in a village until it was safe for her to return to the Palace.

Studying her as she stood, waiting for him in the snow. She was turning into a young woman and he knew she would need to be around human to understand her body's changing. She had traveled long with him and it was time for her to settle down and live in a palace, much like a Hime she should be.

Finally, he spoke, "Rin. We are going to a village; you are going to stay with the lord there."  
Rin's cheerful face fell, her eyes shone with wetness, "SesshoMaru-Sama, you're going to leave me behind?" Her manner of speech had finally changed into proper manner, losing the child-like talk.

"Hai, it is not safe for you to return to the palace yet. War is brewing."

Rin dropped her head, "I understand. Will you return for me?" She looked up to find him much closer, standing nearly flush to her body; she could feel the warmth from him.

Taking her chin in his fingers, he studied her face. "Hai, Rin. This SesshoMaru promises to return for you."

Rin smiled, knowing SesshoMaru never promises deliberately. "Okay."

He let go of her chin and turned, walking away. He called back, "Come, Rin."

They reached the village and as they walked through, people murmured, stopping to stare at the taiyoukai. They knew who was ruler of the land they lived on but having never seen the taiyoukai up-close, they wondered, whispering and gossiping, curious to why he was in their village. The last time a taiyoukai visited the village was over two hundred years ago, in which he had stolen the Hime to take as a mate.

SesshoMaru stopped before a castle on the other end of the village and turned to Rin, "This is where you will stay. The Lord here will take care of you as his own daughter."

Rin looked up to the castle, it wasn't large as SesshoMaru's palace but it was nice enough. Nodding, she followed him into the castle, to meet with the lord.

They found him in the garden that lay in the center of the castle. He rose to greet them, surprised. "Lord SesshoMaru, I have not expected your company." He bowed; he was a handsome man, in his forties. He was once a general daimyo, traveling, fighting in wars for SesshoMaru-sama and now, he decided to retire, to run the village on SesshoMaru's land after becoming injured from the war. He had a limp in his leg, for he never recovered, never being able to walk fully.

SesshoMaru bowed his head slightly, "I am not here to visit but on business, Hiromaru." He stepped aside to reveal Rin from behind him. Rin stared up to the man, shyly trying to hide behind SesshoMaru but failed as he took hold of her arm and moved her to stand in front of him. "I have trouble in the Western Land, and she can't return with me. I need her to stay here under your care. It will be provided for."

The man, Hiromaru smiled at Rin and nodded to SesshoMaru, knowing he had taken in a human girl some time ago through rumors. He was surprised to find the girl young and very pretty. She looked like a daughter he had dreamed of. "I will take her in as my own. It would be very nice to have a daughter at last."

SesshoMaru turned to Rin, "Go and play, I must speak to him." Rin gave a nod and went to play in the garden while he and Hiromaru stepped into the hall that lined the edge of the garden. "This is not to be repeated to anyone." He warned with promises in his voice that he will not hesitate to kill Hiromaru.

Hiromaru nodded, "I understand."

"Good. Rin is precious to me, guard her with your life and make sure no one know of our association for it could cost her life."

"I'll tell everyone she is my niece that had come to live with me, as an adoptive daughter."

"I approve. I do not know when I will return for her. Here is the money; it should be more than enough to provide for her. Jaken."

Jaken toddled up to him and handed a large bag to Hiromaru. Hiromaru took the bag and opened it, his eyes went wide. "This is enough to feed the village for two hundred years. I will make sure it only goes for Rin's care."

SesshoMaru gave a nod and turned to the garden, watching Rin play in the snow, giggling and smiling. A small unseen smile crept on his lips, he felt his heart wrench a bit, knowing he had grown used to her presence, for she was a diversion of boredom and gave him a meaning in his life after many years of solitary. She was a fresh start in his life and he wanted to take her back to the Palace but couldn't, due to the uprising war going on. He must make sure it was safe for her to live there first.

He recalled his father, asking him if there was anything he would protect, in thus to give him the Tetsusaiga. He had restored that there was nothing for him to protect. It was his fatal mistake then, losing the sword to his brother but now he knew, he had no need for the sword but he has Tenseiga, which brought Rin into his life, teaching him humanity, the value of life and the desire to protect. "I need privacy with her." He simply said and Hiromaru bowed, retreating into the building and Jaken scurried after him, not wishing to meet the flat end of SesshoMaru's boot.

"Rin." He called out to her and watched her turn and run through the snow to him, giggling as she shook off the snow from her body. She stood before him, looking up into his face.

He knelt down on his knees, a strange gesture that Rin had never witnessed him to do. He was almost her height on his knees, he had placed his swords down beside his knees and he drew her in with his only arm. She gasped, realizing that he had hugged her on his own, which he had never done before.

"Rin, I will miss you." He whispered in her ear as he rested his head on her shoulder, taking in her sweet scent of wild flower. "Hiromaru will take care of you until I am able to get you." He then smells the pang scent of tears. He leaned back to look into her face, finding her crying.

"SesshoMaru-Sama, how long will you be gone?" She asked, her face wet with tears, touched by his simple gesture and words. She reached up; for she was the only one allowed to touch his face and caressed his cheek, tracing the mark.

He brushed her ebony hair away and tucked it behind her ear, then using his sleeve to wipe her face free of tears. "Do not cry. I will return."

She nodded; taking the answer that he does not know either. "Hai, SesshoMaru-Sama." She then latched herself onto him, hugging, her arms locked around his neck as she buried her face into his Mokomoko-sama. He simply held her with his only arm, realizing it would be a while before he sees her again. He had chosen Hiromaru to be Rin's caretaker because he was one of his trusted human general. Letting her go, he rose to his feet, fixing his swords to his sash and gave Rin a pat on her head. He turned and entered the building, leaving Rin outside, crying as she watched him go.

Hiromaru came out and brought Rin inside, helping her out of her coat and ushered her into the dining room. He sat her down and sat down as well, "Rin, here, you are my niece who had come to become my adoptive daughter; no one is to know that you have any association to SesshoMaru-sama." He saw Rin cry harder, he sighed and moved to her side and drew her into hug and she clutched onto him. "It is not good idea for anyone to know that you are close to SesshoMaru-sama, it could cost your life and his." He felt her stop crying and was hiccupping, "Now, now, here you will be taken good care of." He drew back and took hold of her chin and smiled, "He is concerned for your safety, and he trusted you in my care, which is highly thought of. I promise you, you will have the life you deserve. Will you be my daughter?" He asked.

Rin stared at his face, studying his profile. She could see his skin was dark, weathered with scars and wrinkles, yet his dark eyes held kindness and promises of love. She remembered her father had the same look and felt the trust rise in her, she nodded. He smiled and withdrew from her, setting her down. "Come, let's eat."


	2. The Stepmother

Chapter Two: The Step-Mother

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Rin was very well loved by Hiromaru; he cared her as if she was his own blood daughter. She was treated like a Hime, yet given freedom to go into the village, to shop and interact with people, soon, she won everyone over with her kindness and sweetness.

Hiromaru made sure she had tutors, learning everything she could learn, from reading, writing, history to art of flower arranging, tea ceremony and dance. She was educated in everything, more than any Hime or a Lady would ever achieve in their life time.

Even, Rin asked to learn about warfare, the art of battle and swordplay, desiring to know what SesshoMaru-sama knows. In few short years, she bested most of Hiromaru's soldiers.

Yet, she never once had forgotten SesshoMaru-sama, always looking forward to his return. As years pass, her heart grew sad, yet she kept hope, always having cheerful demeanor, savoring each day a joyful occasion.

She loved Hiromaru as she would love her own father; she cared for him, pleased him with her learning of new things and delighting him with her daily chatter. He couldn't resist but give her everything she wanted, she was rather a very spoiled child but one wouldn't think she was spoiled by how she acted.

By her fifteenth summer, Hiromaru married a Lady from another village in arranged marriage. The woman was to become her step-mother. She was a beautiful woman, with long brown hair, dressed in elaborate kimono; her eyes were cold and black like stone. She was very vain; she loved anything beautiful, such as silk, jewelry and expensive oils. Her name suited her personality as well, Manami, which meant 'One who Love Beauty'.

Rin didn't like her but never uttered a word or complained. Manami moved in the palace with her and Hiromaru. She had her own room, the largest room, filled with silk, drapes, jewelry, kimono of all colors, oil and even she had bath built joining her room. Rin was forbidden to ever enter her room, but it wasn't like Rin needed to, she loved to be outside instead of being locked inside the palace.

One day, Manami had a discussion with Hiromaru about Rin. She was curious where Rin came from and who her mother was. Hiromaru gave her the same answer as he did to everyone else, "She is my niece, my sister and her husband died, leaving me their daughter. I have taken her in as my own."

Manami didn't believe him, she knew Hiromaru's history and wondered where the finances for Rin came from, and she even persuaded the issue over the time in their marriage. "How is it she came to have so much money, no Hime would have so much dowry."

Hiromaru narrowed his eyes at Manami, "Never ask again. Rin and her dowry came from my sister and her husband, nothing more. You are forbidden to ever ask about Rin's background ever again."

That didn't satisfy Manami. She hated Rin, jealous of Hiromaru's attention and love upon Rin. She was even Jealous of Rin's growing beauty, with long ebony hair, pale skin that never darkened, no matter how much time she spent under the sun. She even was jealous of the village's love for Rin. She wanted what Rin has, especially Rin's dowry, the amount of riches that the girl hold, little did she knew that the rich was from the Taiyoukai of the West himself.

The winter by Rin's sixteenth year was very harsh, many people in the village died from the bitter cold and the illness that the winter brought upon them. Hiromaru fell very ill; he did not survive through the winter, leaving Rin very heartbroken to lose another loved person in her life.

Spring came around and life changed for Rin. With Hiromaru gone, the village reduced to nearly half of the size, the budget was hard upon the village. Manami was very selfish; she sold off a lot of things in Hiromaru's castle, selling everything she could get her hands on so she'd have the wealth for herself. She got rid of all the servants and housekeepers and demanded Rin to cook and clean for her.

Rin, with kindness in her heart and no desire to leave the castle for she knew SesshoMaru-sama would return and take her away. She remained, cooking and cleaning for Manami, attending to every of her needs. Manami grew very vain and selfish every day.

Manami spent her all of her time in her room, only venturing out to kick the begging villagers out of the castle or to demand Rin of something. She always sit before her mirror, dressed in elaborate kimono, layer upon layers, wearing her hair up in fancy do, and painting her face heavily with make up.

She has one special possession, a mirror framed with white bone frame, it was a simple mirror but it held some kind of power. She had come across the mirror when she was younger in the forest. At the time when she found the mirror, the entire Japan was in celebration for the defeat of Naraku. She assumed someone had lost the mirror but little did she know the mirror had once belonged to Kanna, the offspring of Naraku.

The mirror may looked like a simple one in a normal human's hands, but in the hand of demons or human with powers, such as Miko or Monk, the mirror held it's own power. Manami, as no one knew but herself and the Miko who trained her was trained as a Miko, she had the power however, her intention was not pure in using the power, thus making her a dark Miko. She wasn't powerful like Tsubaki, the famous Dark Miko that met her end by InuYasha.

Once she had learned how to use the mirror, using it to spy on people or ask question to have it answer her with images. But once a day, she always asked the mirror the same thing, for in her heart, she was very, very vain.

"Kagami, Kagami, in my hands, who in this land of the Nishi is fairest of all?"

The mirror's surface was always foggy, but once it cleared, it would answer with the image. It satisfy her that the mirror reflect her own face, telling her that she is the fairest in the land of the West. However, the mirror is of youkai, it deceives her for personal gain, desiring to live on until it falls into the right hands such as a youkai like Kanna.

Satisfied with her daily question to the mirror, she rose and ventured into the hallway, searching for Rin, Manami soon found her in the kitchen, making dough for bread.

"Rin, when you are done, go out and get my order of Kimono, I am expecting a new one today." Manami said with distaste on her face.

Rin stood up and bowed, brushing her straying hair back in the bun. "Hai, Manami-sama. Is there anything else you want me to do?" She asked. She knew if she defied Manami, she would meet the end of her beating stick and do not wish to feel the sharp pain upon her back again.

Manami turned her nose up in the air. "There is a laundry needing to be washed. The hallway is starting to look a bit dusty. I suppose, and I want my dinner soon." She turned with swish of her kimono and left.

Rin sighed and returned to kneading the dough and placed it aside for it to rise. Brushing her plain kimono of orange with red obi lined with green stitches of leaves upon it. It was covered with flour and she brushed them off as she left the kitchen.

She went to Manami's room and knocked on the door, "My Lady, I will need that laundry you asked me to wash. I'm going to take it with me into town to have it washed."

Manami opened the door and shoved the wicker basket full of silk, "They all better return clean and in one pieces each." She left the unsaid threat hang in the air.

Rin nodded and picked up the basket, tucking it under her arm. "Hai. I will return shortly with your new kimono." She turned and left.

Manami's cold eyes followed Rin down the hallway and turned back into her room.

Rin went into the village, greeting the people there, asking how they were faring and answering that she was doing well. She stopped to chat with some of the women and went on to the washing women, asking them to wash the clothes in the basket. They agreed and took the basket to wash for Rin. Then she went to pick up the Kimono and return to the castle, to prepare and feed Manami dinner.

Each day was like this for Rin, doing Manami's order, visit the village, cook and eating scraps and finally, settling down on her plain futon. After Hiromaru's death, Manami had taken everything she owned, selling them off so she'd have money for herself. Rin was left with two kimonos, one plain and one beautiful one that she had hidden away and futon with thin blanket to sleep on. She slept in the cellar below the kitchen. The cellar was cool in the summer and warm in the winter for the cellar also had furnace which warmed the castle during the winter.

When Rin turned seventeen, winter was milder than the last one and spring came early in full bloom. Manami, one day asked the mirror the same thing she asked every day, "Kagami, Kagami, in my hands, who in this land of the Nishi is fairest of all?"

The mirror fogged up and cleared away to show image of a rolling field full of flower, it narrowed down into the image of a young woman of seventeen, running and dancing in the field. Manami narrowed her eyes, enraged that it didn't show her own image. "Kagami, Kagami, who is this woman?"

The mirror shifted and the woman in the field cleared, showing close up. Long ebony lock, free from its bun flowed behind her; her fair skin glowed while her chocolate eyes shone with happiness. Manami was enraged, "Rin? Rin is the fairest than I am?" She shook the mirror.

The mirror fogged and showed Rin's happy face once again. She did not realize the mirror was tired of being in her hands, always having to answer the same question every day, so it decided to show the truth, which was Rin was the true beauty in the land of Nishi.

Manami howled in rage and threw the mirror to the corner of her room, it clattered and laid there, not shattered. She was so angry that she turned yellow and green with envy. Her heart became stone with hatred for Rin.


	3. The Forest

Chapter Three : The Forest

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Manami asked the mirror the same thing the next day, it gave the same answer that Rin was the fairest. Her rage grew each day she asks the mirror until one day she came up with a plan.

She had summoned the village's master huntsman to meet her at the castle while Rin was out. He came to her, bowing before her, "My Lady, what is it you wish of me?"

Manami smiled her sweetest smile, "Take Rin into the wood, I never want to see her again. Kill her, and as a proof that she is dead, bring her heart back to me."

The huntsman, still bowed on the floor froze with horror. He knew Manami is the ranking Lady and he could not defy her order. "Hai, my Lady, I shall do that soon." He rose and left.

He walked through the forest, concerned how he would kill little Lady Rin. His heart wrenched at the thought of putting his friend's adopted daughter to death, for he had loved Rin very much. He was a very close and good friend to Hiromaru and before Hiromaru died, he had entrusted a secret.

He remembered the day Hiromaru told him the secret at his deathbed.

"My friend what I am going to tell you, do not ever tell anyone, it is important." Hiromaru said, waving for the huntsman to come closer. "Guard Rin with your life, she is far more valuable than this village alone or a hundred more. She belongs to SesshoMaru-Sama and he would have everyone's head if she is harmed one bit."

The huntsman gasped with shock, "SesshoMaru-Sama, the Taiyoukai of this land? How she came to belong to him?"

Hiromaru shook his head, "SesshoMaru-Sama came to me when Rin was eleven, asking me to take her in and care for her until he return for her. Rin is the human child the Taiyoukai took in. No one knows of this, not even Manami. I know Manami despised Rin and I fear for Rin in Manami's hands."

The huntsman then agreed to keep this secret and guard her with his life at the distance. Now, Hiromaru's fear had come to clear and he wasn't sure who to fear, Manami or the Taiyoukai of the West.

He found Rin coming out of the forest, her arms full of flower, and her face glowing with radiance. He bowed, "Lady Rin, please come with me." He turned and led her back into the forest.

Rin frowned in confusion, "Huntsman-san, what is it?" She asked, following him.

He did not answer her until he reached a clearing, far away from the village and turned to her. He drew a knife, preparing to stab her.

Rin gasped, dropping the flower to the ground, stumbling back and fell on her backside. Soon she started to cry, "Huntsman-san, why? Please let me live! I'll run into the wood and never return."

His heart broken, the huntsman dropped the knife and fell on his knees, his head in his hands, "Forgive me, my lady. It is not safe for you in the village anymore. Lady Manami would be very angry."

Rin stopped crying, nodding.

He looked up to her, seeing the true beauty of the woman before her and realized, Lady Manami was very ugly compared to the young woman. "Run away, child, run. I pray for the gods to protect you now." He watched Rin rise from the ground and run deeper into the wood, disappearing from his sight. He sighed and stood up as well, taking his hunting knife.

"Taiyoukai SesshoMaru-sama, do return and find your beloved." He whispered to the wind and turned into the opposite direction, intent to hunt down some animal.

He returned to the castle by nightfall, his face was forlorn, showing that he was heartbroken. When Manami saw him, she assumed that he had killed Rin. He brought her a box and she opened it. Indeed inside the box was the heart. But she did not know it was a heart of a young deer.

"Take it, cook it for me, I will have it for dinner tonight." Manami ordered.

Shocked, the Huntsman took the box and returned to his home and asked his wife to cook it. Once it was cooked and seasoned, he took the heart back to Manami and stood there, watching her eat the heart with delight. Sickened by her repulsive behavior, he then knew Manami was a terrible woman, a very dark Miko indeed. He left, praying once again that Rin is far, far away and safe from Manami's jealous wrath.

Rin had run deeper into the wood, the bushes and tree snagged on her kimono, ripping it to shred and finally, exhausted and heartbroken, she fell to the ground on the soft grass.

She laid there crying her heart out, weeping for her life's misfortune. She wept for her parents, she wept for her death. She cried for SesshoMaru and Hiromaru. She cried for herself at last, falling into deep sleep right there on the soft grass.


	4. Nine Kitsune

Chapter Four : Nine Kitsune

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Rin woke up to the soft sunlight shining on her face and looked up to find the sun peeking through the forest above her. She sat up and sighed, realizing her plain kimono was in tatter, luckily she had foregone to wearing both kimono she owned and shred the plain one to reveal a beautiful kimono underneath. She checked it over and found no tear or dirt marring the nice one.

Standing up, she brushed her deep blue kimono, decorated with summer flower on the hem, touched off with yellow obi and red tie. She took glance around her area and saw she was on the edge of the forest somewhere, bordering a large open area of a small glen.

The small glen was an opening in the forest, she could hear waterfall nearby and ventured into the glen and gasped. The scene was idyllic and beautiful. The grass was soft under her feet, the waterfall fell near the center from a rise of the small grassy knoll and fell into a creek that slithered away into the forest on the other side.

She smiled, already falling in love with the place. The water looked very tempting and sweet, deciding to take a bath; she hurried to the edge of the pool where the waterfall spilled into. Quickly to strip out of her kimono, she blushed and realized there was no one around and shrugged, diving into the cool water. She broke the surface and smiled, feeling relieved and refreshed.

She swam around for a while and went under the waterfall. She noticed a cave on the other side and saw there was a path from the edge of the waterfall, the path was dry and the cave seemed to lead somewhere inside. Her curiosity spiked as she saw a box sitting in the mouth of the cave, it looked like a box that would hold fresh fruits in the market place.

Hurriedly, she got out of the water and dressed in her kimono, tying the obi quickly around her waist; she went to the edge of the pool by the waterfall and found the path. Walking the path, she saw it was enough for a small person like herself to walk through without getting wet by the water.

Entering the cave, she found the cave led deeper into underground and a large den. Gasping as she saw the den, it was sparsely furnished. There was one wall with ledge with boxes on it. Inspecting the boxes, she found different herbs, leaves and fruits in the boxes. Exploring the cave, she found another room through the den.

The second room was bright, with sunlight shining in from above. She looked up and found a hole in the ceiling; it was sparsely covered with long grass hanging over it. The ceiling was riddled with tiny roots everywhere, holding the wall up. There were piles of furs layered all over the floor, making the entire place cushioned. She realized it was a sleeping den.

Her stomach announced she was hungry; she returned to the main den and searched the boxes. She found several fruits and some jerky hidden away. She figured it wouldn't hurt to eat them, since there was no one home. The place did look dusty with spider cobwebs hanging here and there. She went to a small fireplace carved in the wall on the other side and threw in some woods and lit it up. Soon, the drafty place started to warm up.

She had ate the food and made herself tea over the fire. Soon, she started to feel drowsy and tired. Her body finally feeling exhaustion from the run in the forest and the excitement, she went back to the second den and lay down. As soon her body sank in the pile of furs, she fell asleep right away.

"Hey, someone's been here!"

"Yeah, I can smell that, smell like human…"

"But it's not stinky, but like flower."

"Hey, the fire's on!"

"There's tea!"

"My jerky!"

"Someone ate our fruits too."

"Smell like it was here for a while, the scent is all over the place."

"Let's check out the den."

"Oooh, it's a girl!"

"She's pretty!"

"Shut up!"

Rin blinked, hearing chatters of voices. Rubbing her eyes, she realized night had fallen and there was a soft light in the room. She sat up and gasped, seeing several face glowed from the candle.

She blinked and stared, realizing she was looking at boys surrounding her, she made a quick head count, and there were nine of them. Two of them looked identical that she couldn't tell the difference between the two. Then there were two sets of triplets, the first one had different color hairs and the second ones had different color eyes. Her mind started to boggle.

"Uh, who?" She murmured, rubbing her face to rid of the sleepiness.

"That's the question we should be asking you." Rin turned to find the holder of the candle, the oldest of them all, he appeared young as ten or eleven years old, yet he seemed to be the leader. He had a slight scowl on his face with curiosity mixed as well.

"My name is Rin." She replied and realized she had invaded their home. "I'm sorry; I didn't mean to come here. I thought no one lived here, after all, it was dusty and looked abandoned."

One of the twins piped up, "How did you find here? It's a secret!"

Rin smiled at him and told her tale how her adoptive step-mother wanted to kill her, the Huntsman had spared her life and she ran through the forest, arriving in the glen, thus accidentally discovering the den.

The youngest triplet cried out together, "Aniki, can we keep her? Please? Please?"

Soon, the others joined in, pleading and begging their oldest brother. Rin's eyes grew used to the dim light and saw their features clearly, they were all young kitsune, in sets of twin and triplets, yet the oldest was the only one. The twins and the youngest triplets are hanyou for they had fox ears on their head instead of pointy ears like the rest. She saw their tiny fox feet and found them enduring and they all had bushy tails with colors that matched their hair.

She realized they reminded her of an old friend she once played with long time ago, Shippo, a kit that was with InuYasha. She wondered how he fared then and suddenly wondered if the young kitsune knew him as well. Pushing the thought aside, she turned to the oldest.

The oldest had a deep thought on his face and finally said, "If you keep the den for us, cook, make our bed, wash, sew and take care of all of us like a mother would do, you can stay with us and we will take care of you too."

Rin gave a soft smile and nodded, "Yes, with all my heart." Soon, all of the kitsune, save the oldest piled up on her, hugging her and chattering. She laughed and played with them.

That night, they had a good dinner together, and they all went to sleep together in the den, snuggling together under pile of fur to stay warm. For the first time in a long time, Rin felt comfortable and loved since SesshoMaru-sama.

She had learned their names and how to tell them apart. They were all brother, as they called themselves Kyuunintai Kitsune, the nine kitsune brothers. They had same father but four different mothers, two were kitsune and two were human.

Ichisune was the eldest, eleven years old. The brothers said he looked every bit like his father, with long brilliant red hair tied back in braid. He was the leader of the small pack of brothers, always making decision and taking care of them. He had emerald eyes that shone with wisdom beyond his age. He had red tail like his hair and his fox feet were dark brown. He wore simple sleeveless blue haori and green belt. His mother had died in childbirth, bearing him.

Then, there was the twin, Jirosune and Sansune. Seven years old, they were identical from head to little claws on their paws, they both had brilliant red hair like Ichisune and their eyes were aqua colored. They had cute freckles smattering their face. They wore sleeveless brown haori with short tan hakama. They had human mother, who abandoned them, not wanting to deal with hanyou.

Rin learned there was a slight difference between them both, Sansune, the younger of the two was smaller and a bit shorter than Jirosune. When they both was born, Sansune was the second and weaker, he became ill when he was a child. His father had to take care of him, trying to save him from brink of death. Ever since, he was smaller than Jirosune, but it didn't stop them from confusing anyone, they were full of mischief, always having tricks up their sleeves.

The first sets of triplets were full kitsune and they were identical with one difference, their hair was different colors, easily setting them apart from each other. They had blue eyes; they even dressed the same, with long sleeved dark green haori and short brown hakama. They had cute tipped ears that stuck out from their heads. They were five years old, very sweet and kind and very close to each other. Their mother, the kitsune, had abandoned them as well, when she had learned there were other children, she left, not wanting to deal with six boys then.

Shirosune was the eldest of the three, he had brown hair. Gorosune had orange hair and Rokusune is blond of the group and the youngest. Their hair was tied back in plait as well, falling down to their shoulders. The three always stuck together, never parting. Rokusune was the quietest of the three while Gorosune was the loudest and Shirosune, being the eldest had a better head on their shoulders.

The last three, Rin found them very, very cute and youngest of the brothers. They were three years old and hanyou as well. They had fox ears on their head like the twins except their hair was orange and their eyes were shocking to her. Shichisune had blue and green eyes, Hachisune had blue eyes and Kurosune had green eyes.

Like it ran in the family, they all dressed identical, they had baggy black hakama that fell to their knees and dark blue three quarter sleeved haori. Their tails were orange as their hair was. They were the babies of the brothers, the smallest and easiest to cuddle. Rin remembered Shippo had been that small once. They were full of mischief as well like any kitsune would be.

Rin asked about their father, where he was. They told her that he had died recently in a war in the West. She then realized the war was where SesshoMaru-sama was and fear clutched her heart, wondering if SesshoMaru-sama was still alive. But she then remembered, SesshoMaru-sama is the Taiyoukai and he is nearly undefeatable except for InuYasha could defeat him. He had made promise to her that he would return for her.

The brothers had made their life out in the den, making do every day, and now they had Rin to take care of them all, and they were happier. Every day, the brothers would go out after breakfast into the forest, the oldest three would go hunting for meat, the second three would either hunt or gather, but usually, they would make up disguise and go into the nearby village to sell and trade furs, nuts and fruits that they collected in the forest to buy things for their home, clothes and food. The youngest triplets often gather herbs and nuts and return home earlier than the rest.

It was the same every day, Rin would cook them breakfast, see them off. Clean the den, sew their clothes, prepare the food and fruits, cook dinner and then at night, before they all settle to bed, she would tell them stories. Often they wanted to hear stories of her adventure growing up, the tale of Shikon no Tama and fictional stories she had read in the palace.

Twice a week, they would stay home with her, they would play, learn how to read and write. And once a week, they all go and swim in the pool together, taking bath while Rin washes their clothes and join them for the swim.

Life was happy and carefree for them all. They grew to love her as she loved them like her own. They worried about her evil step-mother and advised her to never go back to the village. Ichisune would go to the village twice a month under disguise, asking if SesshoMaru-sama had returned. After the third time he went into the village, he met with the Huntsman and told him that Rin was safe and from there on, he would meet with him and ask for news of SesshoMaru-sama for Rin.

Rin, twice a month would travel to the other side of the forest where another village was to shop. She felt safe and happy with her life, but deep in her heart, she missed SesshoMaru-sama sorely that sometime her heart aches.

Now, Manami believed she had ate Rin's heart, could think she was the fairest of them all. In her earlier rage, she had hidden the mirror, never once asking it the question for a long time. Truly believing that Rin was gone and everything was good for her. Selfish and vain, she bought herself more kimono, baubles and lavished herself in riches of Rin's dowry.

One day, wanting to satisfy her vanity, she took out the mirror and asked, "Kagami, Kagami, in my hands, who in this land of the Nishi is fairest of all?"

The mirror fogged and cleared up, showing the glen in the forest, with nine kitsune boys playing with a woman in the field. The mirror showed close up of the woman and Manami paled in shock, it was Rin.

She realized the Huntsman had deceived her and Rin was still alive. She threw the mirror once again in rage, becoming green with envy, soon her thoughts were on Rin, her rage increased and each day, she thought about how to kill Rin. For as long she was not the fairest woman in the entire land, her envy did not give her rest.


	5. Three Attempts

Chapter Five : Three Attempts

* * *

At last, Manami thought of something. She took the mirror and asked, "Where can I find Rin?"

The mirror showed that she could find Rin in the next village, shopping. Then she made her plan and soon, she was gone from the castle under a disguise using her dark Miko power.

She went into the next village as a middle aged woman, selling silk obi. No one recognized her or even bothered to care about her. Making her way through the market place, she called out, "Beautiful Obi, silk, in many colors and designs. Beautiful Obi!"

She found Rin and went up to her, "A pretty woman like you should have an obi to match your kimono! For sale!"

Rin flushed at her and smiled, checking over the obi that lay on her arms. "They're really beautiful…"

"Oh, this gold one is perfect for you." Manami held up the gold one, the one she had specifically cast a spell upon it. "I can give it to you for a price."

Soon, Rin gave in and bought the Obi, for the price was dirt cheap for such beautiful gold silk Obi that had stitches of leaves in darker gold threads. The woman had convinced her to wear it then, helping her out of her old Obi and wrapping the new one on her. Rin gasped as it was tight around her waist and tried to tell the woman but was interrupted, "The tighter, the better to show off your curves, surely, there must be a man for you to catch eyes of."

Rin flushed and thanked the woman. As they parted in the marketplace, Rin turned back and found the woman gone. Shaking her head, she figured it was time to return to the forest and to the kitsune.

As she walked through the forest, she found it was hard to breathe every step. Finally as she reached the den, before entering the waterfall, she could not breathe any more. The obi, being bewitched was spelled to slowly tighten around her waist, causing her to lose her breath. She then passed out on the grass, lying there.

Manami had arrived home and watched the entire scene in the mirror. As the moment Rin fell down on the grass, she laughed in glee, having triumphed in killing Rin at last. She went and celebrated, buying herself more things.

It was one of those days where all nine brothers went out hunting together and came home late in the evening at the same time. They were horrified when they found Rin outside their den, pale and not moving at all. They thought she was dead.

They all gathered around her, turning her over, finding her lips tinted blue and her breath very, very shallow. The twins, being the children of human mother who was a Miko had some ability of Miko powers themselves recognized dark spell upon the Obi. They saw it was wound too tight around her waist, causing her to suffocate.

They all shred the obi to pieces and waited for her to regain her breath, little by little, she came back to life. They helped her up and into their den, laying her upon the fur. They fed her dinner and gave her tea, waiting for her to regain her energy as well.

When Rin was able to sit up, Ichisune asked, "What happened, where did that Obi come from?"

"I bought it in the marketplace in the village. The woman… she helped me to put it on."  
"It's bewitched!" Sansune spat.

Jirosune nodded in agreement, "We can tell, it was a dark Miko spell."

Rin gasped, "Dark Miko? Could it be Manami did this?"

Shichisune wrinkled his nose, "The obi reeks of perfumes and stinky thing that you call make up."

Rin nodded then, "It must be her. She has so much perfumes and oils, make up and all the things that rich ladies dress themselves in."

Ichisune crossed his arms. "She tried to kill you before, now she done it again. She's going to try once she learns that you are still alive. I don't know how she found you. You are not to go into the village alone again. I'm going to the Huntsman tomorrow to see what's up."

Rin sighed, hugging the three youngest in her lap while the others crowded around her, comforting her as well. "All right, I suppose so. It's time for bed, I'm tired."

The nine brothers scrambled and soon, they all slept together huddled up under the fur. This night, they all cuddled up much closer than before, feeling overprotective of their adoptive mother. The brothers dreamed of taking down the evil witch, fighting in battle to protect Rin and a large white dog that looked down them with pride.

Month passed, the nine brothers were very protective, never allowing her out of sight even once. They took turn in going anywhere with her. It took about two weeks before they allowed her back into the village. Then, two more months passed, they felt that the danger passed.

Ichisune had gone to see the Huntsman and they both couldn't figure out how Manami found out that Rin was alive. The Huntsman feared for his family's safety, moved to another village. Manami never found him again. Ichisune now met up with the Huntsman's brother in the village once a month for any news upon SesshoMaru-sama.

Winter settled in, covering the forest white, the waterfall froze; making beautiful glassy scene and the pool froze as well. They couldn't swim but they resorted to heating up water over the fireplace and scrubbing themselves down with rags and cloths. Rin took up to washing clothes inside as well. Still, they went on with their daily routines but during winter time, the kitsune, being fox creature needed to hibernate, so they slept most of the time while Rin stayed with them, huddling up in furs with them.

One rather very cold morning, Manami took out the mirror and asked, feeling giddy, "Kagami, Kagami, in my hands, who in this land of the Nishi is fairest of all?"

The mirror fogged up and cleared, to reveal the face of Rin, huddling up in furs with the kitsune boys, telling them tales. Her face was pale and beautiful, her ebony hair fell down in locks around her face and her lips were deep red.

Manami threw a fit, howled in rage. She went about destroying nearly half of the castle, scaring the last remaining servants. Finally when she settled down, she sat in her room and tapped her finger on her knees as she thought. Then she spied something on the floor, smirking, she picked up the silver hairpin. An idea came to her mind, she then went about to work on her plan.

One morning, the air didn't feel so chilly and the snow glistened under the sunlight. Rin announced that she needed to head to the village to buy some food and tea leaves.

"We'll go with you." Ichisune put his tiny paw down. Soon, all nine brothers pulled out their magic leaves, popping into their new disguise. Ichisune grew taller and into a young handsome human man which caused Rin to blush horribly. Ichisune saw this and winked at her, teasing her.

The twin turned into couple of dashing young teenager and the rest turned into human boys of their age. They looked every bit like a human family with brood of boys. They set out to the village together.

As they reached the village, the boys split up with different portion of the list to buy, Ichisune and the twins accompanied Rin to her shopping. They stopped from stall to stall, looking and buying.

Unbeknown to them, Manami went under a different disguise and slipped the silver hairpin, casting a slight spell upon it to draw Rin to it. She was smarter this time, figuring that using spells alerted the kitsune, so she took a different route. She had coated the sharp edge of the hairpin with odorless poison that was deadly. The edge was very sharp; there was no way for anyone to avoid scratching their head putting it in. Once the poison, even in the smallest amount to the blood would kill the strongest man.

She crackled and disappearing from the village, waiting for her plan to fall in. As she had planned, Rin went to the stall where combs, hairpin and all kinds of accessories were sold. She stayed there with Ichisune, looking very bored by her side but patient as well. Looking over the accessories, she came across the silver hairpin. Upon touching the hairpin, the spell fell away and she held it up, admiring it.

"Oh, Ichisune, look at this, it's so pretty." Rin showed the hairpin to him and smiled.

Ichisune took it and inspected it, feeling nothing out of place and smelling nothing wrong with it. He figured Rin deserved to have something special, for she had been taking care of him and his brother with all the love she had for them. He nodded and turned to the merchant and asked, "How much for this hairpin?"

The merchant saw the hairpin and frowned, "Hm, I'm not aware I had that kind, let's see…" He took the sticks and held it up, inspecting it. "I suppose, you can have it for five pieces."

Ichisune was surprised that it was fairly cheap, knowing it was pure silver. He gave the money to the man and handed the hairpin to Rin, smiling at her, "You deserve it." She tucked it in the basket, promising herself to try it on later.

Rin laughed and hugged him. "Thanks. Come on, let's go find the others. I am sure we're all done." Ichisune couldn't disagree and soon, they took off, gathering up the brothers and headed back into the forest.

The hairpin was forgotten for a while. The brothers and Rin had their dinner and they went to bed that night.

Manami was fidgeting with impatience, having watching the entire time, waiting for Rin to try the hairpin in her hair or even pricking her skin with the sharp edge. She was so upset that she could not sleep that night.

The next day, the weather held promise much like the day before and the brothers felt it was safe to leave Rin alone in her den, making her promise to not venture out alone. They all left, to do hunting and gathering.

As Rin cleaned the den, she came across the hairpin and decided it was time to try it on. She sat down and pulled out her comb and started to comb her long ebony hair and twisting it up in simple bun. She picked up the hairpin and started to slide them in her hair to hold the bun in place.

"Ow… well that was to be expected, it's pretty sharp." She told herself as the hairpin pierced her skin and made a small scratch on her head. Shrugging it aside, she studied herself in a small handheld mirror, smiling as she saw it was very pretty on her hair.

Suddenly, she felt dizzy and her eyes became heavy. Drooping to the ground, she fell unconscious, the poison seeping in her blood, slowly killing her.

Manami had witnessed the entire thing, smiled in glee; she stood and danced around her room. She stopped and turned to the mirror, seeing the image of Rin lying on the ground in the den, "You specimen of beauty, now you are finished." If anyone had seen her, she looked a bit like fright, having not had any wink the entire night, her hair was sticking in places and she had bags under her eyes and she looked like a crazy mad woman. But no one had witnessed such scene and soon, she was back to her vain self, dressed in silk and dabbing herself with scented oils.

As the brothers returned home, they found Rin lying on the ground, almost dead to the world. For the poison was in small dose, was slowly killing her inside but there was time. They were horrified to find her almost dead.

They couldn't figure this one out for a while, checking her over as she laid there. Finally, the youngest one, Kurosune pulled the hairpin out of her hair and noticed blood on the tip, once the blood came in contact with the poison, the scent was evident.

The first set of triplets, with their vast knowledge of herbs, gathered together anecdote for the poison and fed it to her. They once again put her in the bedding den and lay with her, warming her cold body up, waiting for her to return to life once again.

This time around, it took week for her to recover, fever came then and broke, and then she was left without energy, sleeping off the poison, letting the anecdote fight it in her body. Finally, by the end of the week, she was well enough to be up and about.

Ichisune sat across from her once she had recovered, "She had done it again. We don't know how but I suspected she slipped the hairpin, knowing you would buy it. This is the third time she attempted at your life."

Rin agreed. The hairpin were destroyed, thrown in the fire to burn off the poison and then the nine brothers took turn crunching it up into balls and then they buried it in the forest, deep in the ground to never be found again.

"There was hint of Miko magic on it." Sansune commented, remembering he had discovered this.

Jirosune piped in, "I think she used the magic to lure you to it. The poison had no scent but after it touched your blood, it became clear. Good thing Shiro, Goro and Roku know about poisons and anecdote."

Rin smiled at them, "Thank you; I don't know how I would be without you all. I love you."

Ichisune smiled as he was gathered along with his brothers, hugging Rin. He thought long and hard that night. He figured he needed to find the Huntsman and see if there was any way he could deliver message to SesshoMaru-sama. He knew, once SesshoMaru-sama return and take Rin, she would be safe. But then when he realized that once that happened, he and his brothers would miss Rin horribly. But that would be dealt with when the time come, he vowed himself.

It didn't take long for Manami to ask the mirror once again the same question. For something nagged inside her that she had to ask, "Kagami, Kagami, in my hands, who in this land of the Nishi is fairest of all?"

The mirror didn't hesitate to show the image of Rin, huddled with the nine kitsune brothers.

Her eyes narrowed in thin slit and her face grew red with rage, turning green and then yellow. She didn't throw fit or screamed but she clutched the mirror, she growled her voice very ugly and her true face showed a very ugly and horrid feature of a witch, "Rin shall die, if it cost me my life!" She finally shouted and stomped away; going into her secret room that no one knew existed.

She went about to work, brewing concoction and mixing herbs. Finally, she held out a beautiful apple, the skin was ruby red with delicious white juice inside. Anyone who saw it would want it. However, a small piece of the apple surely would kill the person who bit into it.

She swirled her robe and then was gone from the castle.

Spring came, the snow melted then. Rin was happy to be out of the den, feeling that she had gotten cabin fever. The waterfall had finally melted and running, the pool rippled and glistened under the bright sunlight. Grass was green once again.

Rin spent the day outside, washing and drying the clothes, singing to herself. The youngest triplet stayed with her, playing, romping in the grass around her. The brothers decided to never leave her alone ever again until SesshoMaru-sama came for her. No matter how long, they vowed together, to protect her with their lives. Rin couldn't deny them and agreed too, fearing for her own life as well.

She settled on the grass, lying in the sun, basking in the warmth, waiting for the laundry to dry. She smiled, allowing herself a short nap. Then, she woke up, hearing a sharp cry in the forest. She sat up and glanced around, she found the triplet lying on the grass near her, dozing in the sun. She got up and brushed the grass from her dress.

She turned and saw a common woman in the forest near the glen. She went over to her and looked back; she could still see the triplet and turned to the woman. "Are you all right?"

The woman gasped and turned to Rin. She was holding a basket of apples in her arms. "Oh, my. I strayed too far from the path. I think I am lost."

Rin frowned, knowing the path was pretty far away. "If you walk straight this way," She pointed in the general direction, "You will find the path." Then she pointed the other way, "There, you will find a village nearby; I suppose you came from that village."

The woman nodded, smiling, "Thank you so much. Suppose you can walk me to the path, you seem to know the forest."

Rin shook her head, "I can't leave. My children." She gestured to the triplet in the grass. From the distant, they looked like normal human children, their fox feet hidden in the tall grass and their fox ears blended well in their hair.

"Oh, how cute. I suppose, I can't make you leave your children. But here's a gift for your help." She held up the perfect red apple to Rin.

Rin smiled, "Thank you, but I cannot accept your gift."

"Surely, it's delicious. Here, I'll bite into it to show you." She bit into the apple and chewed then swallowed.

Rin longed for the apple, it had been a while since she had eaten one and suddenly she had craving for it. She took the apple and bit the other end of the apple and relished in the taste. "Oh, it's good."

The woman smiled, for she was Manami in disguise and Rin had bitten into the poison half of the apple. She watched as Rin's eyes rolled back and she fell to the ground dead. The apple rolled away from her hand and she laughed in glee.

"Fair as snow, red as blood, black as ebony midnight sky! This time the kitsune can't awaken you!" She turned and took off, disappearing from the place.

Once Manami reached home, she took out the mirror and asked, "Kagami, Kagami, in my hands, who in this land of the Nishi is fairest of all?"

The mirror finally answered, showing the clear image of her face on the surface. Then, her envious heart was at rest, for she was the fairest in the land and Rin was dead.


	6. The Barrier

Chapter Six : The Barrier (or The Casket)

* * *

The young triplet woke up, feeing very strange and concerned. They scrambled about, searching for their adoptive mother and found her on the edge of the glen, lying on the ground once again. They started howling, crying, and ringing the forest with their despair.

Their cries brought the other brothers in no time and they all gathered around her. She was dead, not breathing and her heart was still. They checked her over, looking for anything poisonous, unwounded her obi to loosen it and combed her hair, they found nothing but an apple near her hands.

"We need to take her back to the den, prepare her for the funeral rite." Ichisune announced sadly. The others cried. The young three brothers cried harder than the rest, guilty that they weren't able to stop her or protect her.

Ichisune watched his brothers take Rin to the den, careful to not tousle her or anything. He held the apple and looked it over, he saw two bites, one of the bites had Rin's scent on it and he knew she had bitten into that bite, and he smelt poison on that side of the apple. What had perplexed him was the other bite had no scent or poisons, and then he knew, Rin was tricked once again.

He howled long and hard, his cry ran for miles and miles, upset and heartbroken to lose another loved one. For that day was the most sorrowful day and the entire forest knew. Both villages on each side of the forest heard his howling and their heart wrenched, knowing something sad and horrible had happened.

Through the night, the nine brothers howled and cried, never once ceasing to fill the air with their sorrow. The cries reached the Musashi Providence and a lone kitsune heard the cry.

"What is that? It's so sad!" A beautiful woman Miko, immortal for she is the mate of the infamous inu-hanyou asked.

The male adult kitsune shook his head, "It's the cry of kitsune, coming from the west. They're crying in sorrow because they lost someone dear to them. It's hard to make out the cry because there are nine of them… all of them young from the sound of it."

"Eh, Shippo, you know them?" The brash voice asked from the inu-hanyou, InuYasha asked.

The kitsune, Shippo frowned, then his eyes widened. "I understand it now! We have to go there… It's a cry for help too. They're saying something about Rin-mama is dead and they're asking for Taiyoukai SesshoMaru-sama to come."

InuYasha bolted up from his reclining position in the hut, "SesshoMaru?"

The Miko, Kagome gasped, her hand to her mouth, "Rin-mama? Could be that the little girl that traveled with SesshoMaru long time ago? She adopted nine kitsune?"

Shippo nodded and bolted right out of the hut, running toward west. InuYasha shrugged and got up, helping Kagome onto his back and ran after the kitsune, hot on his heel.

The nine kitsune brothers cleaned and dressed Rin in her beautiful kimono, placed flowers in her hair and laid her out in the glen, nestled in the soft grass with flower surrounding her. She looked as if she was sleeping there, her pale skin soft with her ebony hair fanned out beneath her while her lips shone crimson red.

For three days, they mourned, crying and howling for their Mama. By the end of the third day, they finally ceased and surrounded Rin. They had finished the first part of the funeral rite and were prepared to bury her in the forest. However, they saw that she was still fresh like a living person, her skin was soft and warm, not like a dead person which would gone rigid and icy cold.

"Aniki, we can't bury her. She's like still alive…" Gorosune said as he held Rin's hand in his lap. His two other brothers sat on his sides, also holding her hand as well.

Ichisune nodded, "Yeah. Her heart is still but I think she is fighting the poison. She doesn't have much time left. Our only hope is that SesshoMaru-Sama return soon and revives her with the blade of his."

"That's right, the Tenseiga, like she told us." Hachisune piped up, his voice tinged with hope.

Ichisune frowned, "There's war still going on in the West." Then his head snapped to the eastern part of the forest, hearing a lone cry. "Someone's coming."

The brothers scrambled around and made stand to protect Rin, lining to guard her body from the incomer. They saw an adult kitsune burst through the forest and stood there. He looked about in his late teen, tall and handsome with blue and green outfit, completed with fox fur vest. He had long russet orange hair tied up in high pony tail and his eyes shone deep emerald.

Then from behind him an inu hanyou appeared as well, dressed in red with sword by his side. He had long wild silver hair and amber eyes. From his back slipped off a human female in short green hakama skirt with white haori top. She had black hair and blue eyes.

Ichisune stepped forward, his hands posted to strike. "Who are you?" He asked, snarling.

Shippo held his hands up in sign of no offense, "I'm Shippo. We heard your cries and came right away. You were asking for SesshoMaru-Sama. We know him, InuYasha here," He gestured to InuYasha next to him, standing gruff with his arms crossed, "Is his half-brother. Is this Rin?" He pointed to the woman behind the nine kitsune.

Ichisune relaxed, recognizing their names from the tales that Rin told them. "I know you all. Rin-mama told us all about you guys. You're hero to us all." Shippo flushed slightly at that, "Hai, this is Rin." He moved aside and the brothers moved as well, revealing Rin lying on the grass, beautiful and ready to be buried.

Kagome gasped as she ran forward, falling to her knees beside Rin and touched her forehead and hands. "Oh, Rin!" She studied her face, recognizing the little girl she once knew long time ago. "She's beautiful… what happened?" She looked up to the nine brothers surrounding her.

Soon, they told the tale of how she came to live in the village long time ago and the evil step-mother's desire to kill her, four times over and succeeded in the end. InuYasha growled deeper and deeper as he heard the tale, upset, wondering why SesshoMaru did not return for Rin.

Kagome turned to Rin and held her hands over the girl, her eyes closed. For a while, she stayed still, silent. The other watched in anticipation and concern. Then finally, Kagome opened her eyes, "The poison, I do not recognize it but it's in her body, shutting her organs down one by one. Her heart beats very slowly and the others had been shut down. Her heart will be the last one. She does not have much time…" Her eyes glazed over and she saw pall-bearer youkai scrambling over Rin, trying to take her soul. Her hands brushed them away and they scrambled off.

"Is there anything you can do, Onee-chan?" The youngest, Kurosune asked, tugging onto Kagome's sleeve. She looked at him and smiled, picking him up to hold him in her arms like she once did when Shippo was younger.

"I can only put up a barrier for her."  
"What's that?" Hachisune asked, scrambling onto her lap.

Kagome smiled sadly, "A shield, to protect her until SesshoMaru-sama return. I will make it that only he can take the barrier down when he comes for her. I do not know how long it will last, I will try my best."

Ichisune frowned, "Aren't you like the strongest Miko out there?" He asked.

Kagome blushed, "That's what they tell me." She put Kurosune and Hachisune aside and closed her eyes, setting herself into prayer.

Ichisune backed up; giving her room and the other brothers took example. He stood beside Shippo and asked in quiet voice, "Can you find SesshoMaru-sama?"

Shippo shook his head, "I can't. We do not know where his palace is and last I heard, it's a war zone. We can't enter there, only you guys can hope and pray that he return soon. I have faith in Kagome's ability to make a very strong barrier for Rin."

Ichisune nodded silently, watching golden glow cover Rin, appearing like a glass casket around her, making her look ethereal, and lying there surrounded with flowers. The brothers sat, waiting as well, watching in awe, their face showed sadness as well.

InuYasha stood there silently, thinking and wishing for his baka half-brother to come at the moment, to the rescue. But he did not.

Kagome sighed as she finished, standing up and wobbling. InuYasha went to her side and helped her. She smiled at him, "I believe, this is where the story of Snow White came to be. It is almost the same. I couldn't help but make the barrier look like a glass casket for her." She looked to Rin and sighed, "She's beautiful, it's a real pity."

InuYasha held her in his arms, he remembered the story she told Shippo about Snow White long time ago and he had to agree, with the tale the kitsune boys told them, it was too eerily similar. "Is that all you can do?" he asked.

"Hai. She will lie here, protected from anyone, anything until SesshoMaru come for her. The barrier is spelled to recognize his touch."

Ichisune bowed, "Thank you, we will stay here and watch over her. This is our home; you are all welcome to stay if you want. If not, at least stay for dinner to rest before you are on your way."

Shippo smiled at the youth, "Thanks, kid. We'll stay for dinner at least."

InuYasha didn't complain but gave his usual grunt and they all stayed, eating dinner that the kitsune boys offered. They talked and shared tales and then by nightfall, the three visitors were gone.

Rin laid there on the grass in the glen for all to see. Animals came and went, visiting her. The Huntsman came and visited, he was saddened and he had no news of SesshoMaru-sama. The nine kitsune brothers went on with their lives, but with less bounce in their steps, their heart heavy with sadness.

Summer faded into fall, the forest turned from green to golden, yet the area around Rin where the barrier surrounded her remained as if it was spring time, the flowers never withered away, the grass was still sparkling green, with morning dew caught on each blade. It was as if Rin was left in suspended animation, untouched by time.

Winter came, snow piled around Rin, yet she remained forever youthful in a small case of spring. Then, seasons rolled into years, tale of Rin spread far and wide, many young man came, believing they could rescue Rin from her eternal sleep but none could ever get past the barrier. The Huntsman came to visit over the years, yet he brought no news but war still raged in the far West.

Each year, on the day Rin had bitten into the apple, the nine brother kitsune howled for three days, to mourn for her, to call for the esteemed Taiyoukai of the West to come. Yet, he never came; hope was starting to wane in their hearts, believing that he will never hold up to his promise.

Ichisune, Jirosune and Sansune had grown older into young strapping teenage men went out far and wide, to search for SesshoMaru-sama, yet they come back empty handed. The rest of the brothers remained, guarding her every time the eldest three were gone.

By the ninth year, Ichisune reached the age of twenty one, a young man; the true leader of his pack lost all hopes and declared the forest around Rin off limit to any hopeful men to wake Rin. He then decided that SesshoMaru-sama is dead or missing for there was no news from the war. The war had died down couple of years back; the West had nearly lost the war against the Southern Lord but barely won in staggering defeat.


	7. SesshoMarusama Return

Chapter Seven : The Return of SesshoMaru-sama

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One day, a tall taiyoukai, dressed in black hakama and blood red haori and in frightening looking armors, topping off with two tailed Mokomoko-sama trailing behind him entered the village where Manami lived. Everyone gasped, seeing the taiyoukai walking through; few remembered him from years ago, with a young girl trailing behind him. No one dared to utter a word as they watched him approach the castle.

The taiyoukai, SesshoMaru-sama had came back from the west, having defeated the Southern Land and seized the south, expanding his territory to nearly half of Japan under his rule. It was just then the rumor spread far and wide of how powerful he is, a terror of a youkai, gaining him a new reputation that surpassed his own father in legend.

He had returned to the village intended to keep his promise he made years ago to a young girl. Yet, he saw the village and was set back as he noticed it had grown smaller and poorer. Curious to why Hiromaru would allow this to happen. He went to the castle and entered. He had to stifle his rage as he walked through the castle, noticed it was dusty and almost abandoned. He found the place nearly stripped bare and he felt his concern, rage and confusion bubble under his stoic mask. He found the servants, very sparse, dressed poorly and treated poorly.

They were frightened of his appearance, hiding away in the kitchen, cowering. He ignored them and went on searching the castle and his nose found pungent odor of perfume and oils, it had offended his senses and his eyes nearly watered. It led to the bedroom that once belonged to Rin. It dawned on him that there was no lingering scent of Rin anywhere in the castle, as if she was almost never here at all.

He entered the bedroom, finding a strange woman with beauty of a human, her long glistening brown hair piled up artfully, heavily dressed in rich kimono weighting her frail body down, causing her to lie in bed all day. Her face was painted thickly as if she looked like she belonged in canvas rather than in real life. She was crooning to herself in mirror that she held, which he found strangely familiar.

Manami gasped as she saw the handsome taiyoukai enter her room. She sat up and brushed her hair into place and smiled sickly sweet, "My Lord, have you come for me?"

SesshoMaru-sama almost sneered but kept a cold face, "No. I am here for Rin. Where is Hiromaru?"

Manami stood up, wobbling under the weight of her kimono, "Have you not been told? Hiromaru died 16 years ago, during a bad winter. Rin ran away 15 years ago, poor girl. She was found dead in the forest a year after that, she never made it on her own, not knowing how to survive the forest." She shrugged as she moved closer to the taiyoukai.

He nearly gagged as she came closer, for her unwashed human stink mixed in with heavy oil and perfumes. He was appalled by her news. Rin was gone yet the story had flaw in it, Rin did know how to survive in the forest, for she had been following him around for good five to six years before he left her in the village. He understood that Hiromaru had died from a harsh winter, which was more likely and she had no lie in her scent, yet when she told him of Rin, she was hiding something. He narrowed his eyes at her, "If I find that you are responsible for Rin's death, I will return and end your pathetic life." He then sneered at her, "You stink." He turned and left, leaving her in a huff. His promises struck deep in her heart.

SesshoMaru made his way through the village and to the forest on the other side. The woman told him that Rin had ran away into the forest, so he would go there, to see proof if Rin actually had died. Since this was on his land, he knew there had to be lesser youkai in the forest to tell him something.

When he went deeper in the forest, he found scents of kitsune and headed toward where it was strongest. The scent led him for miles, deeper into the heart of the forest and he found himself in a glen with a small waterfall leading into a creek. He saw a golden barrier shining in the center of the glen, it was strange to him. He could feel the aura of the barrier and made his way to inspect it.

However, he was stopped short as nine snarling kitsune dropped out of the tree above, one brandished a sword, he saw must had been the leader, he noticed three of them had a long dagger and the rest had their hands cracked in claws, ready to attack with their claws and kitsune magic. He knew kitsune magic is boggling, he would have no problem taking down three or four, but nine was a different story in all. They snarled ferociously and he picked up the warning.

Holding his head high and regal, he held up a hand, "Stand down, you would be foolish to attack me."

The leader spoke, still holding his sword, "The forest is off limit to anyone."

"This forest happens to be on my land, so it is not off limit to me." SesshoMaru snarled, his hand changed from gesture of peace to crackling claws, ready to attack, his nails glowed acid green.

One of the twins spoke, "Your land? Who are you?"

SesshoMaru's body shifted into position, ready to fight as he answered, "I am SesshoMaru." He froze as he saw all but three kitsune relax, their face cracking in smile as they shouted with glee. Confused, he waited.

The leader stood straighter but still held his sword to SesshoMaru, "SesshoMaru-sama? You took too long."

SesshoMaru stood, his fingers stopped glowing green. "I am searching for news of Rin. I was told she died."

The twins snorted and dropped their defensive stance, the first spat, "We've been waiting for you to come. We called every year; we searched high and low for you. Rin is indeed dead." The second stepped aside and gestured to the golden barrier. "She lies there."

SesshoMaru saw the permission to approach; he went to the barrier and found it was shaped like casket, it glowed with golden color, giving off ethereal look. He stared, finding a beautiful woman lying there on the grass, surrounded by flowers, looking as if she was sleeping peacefully. He watched and saw that she did not breath, yet she looked healthy and full of color.

His stoic face fell, softening expression as he stared at Rin. She had grown into a beautiful young woman, her skin pale, framed with black ebony hair that contracted his silver white, he knew, under the black lashes, waiting to frame her soft chocolate eyes full of joy and happiness. Her lips were deep red, waiting to be kissed, to be nibbled at. He felt his heart stir and then wrench in pain. His little Rin, grown into a woman, waiting for him, died.

"How did this happen?" he asked, never breaking away from Rin.

Ichisune sheathed his sword and joined his side, "A witch did this to her. She came to us when we all were young, running away from the witch who wanted to kill her. In the time she stayed with us, she was a mother to us all, giving us love and care. We loved her in return." He closed his eyes, "First, the witch fooled her into buying a bewitched obi that wound tight around her waist, making her suffocate to death. We found her in time and shred the obi. Second time, the witch slipped poisonous hairpin, as she tried it on, she fell dead then. Again, we found her and fed her antidote. We thought it was over then."

SesshoMaru frowned, turning to the young man, "Then what?"

"One day, the witch really did it then, fed her poisoned apple, then she fell dead again. That time, we were too late."

"But she is not yet dead, her soul remains." The taiyoukai turned to the casket.

"Yes. Our mourning cry brought three visitors, a powerful Miko, an inu-hanyou and a kitsune."

SesshoMaru recognized the three, "InuYasha."

"Yes. The Miko, Kagome-sama placed the barrier around her, stopping her from dying completely, holding her soul there and preventing the pall-bearer youkai taking her to the underworld."

The taiyoukai then felt Tenseiga pulse by his side. It had been softly pulsing since he had entered the forest. It grew stronger and stronger as he reached the glen. He couldn't ignore it now, it was beating as if it had a heart of its own, demanding loudly to be used. He grasped the sword and Ichisune saw this, stepping back.

"Kagome-sama said the barrier would fall away as it recognizes you, SesshoMaru-sama." Ichisune noted as he stood back.

SesshoMaru gave a single nod, holding the sword above the barrier. His eyes shifted and he saw the pall-bearer youkai scrambling around the barrier, trying to get in. The sword touched the barrier and it fell away, leaving Rin exposed. His nose took full blast of her sweet scent and he steeled with resolve. With a single slash, the pall-bearers vanished and Rin took a deep breath, then she choked.

The nine kitsune brothers gasped, not realizing they were holding their breath. They watched as SesshoMaru knelt quicker than lighting, picking her up and holding as she choked and a piece of apple fell away from her mouth.

SesshoMaru waited as he helped her sit up, he had regained a new arm to replace the missing one during the war and was now holding her with both, it felt sweet to him, to hold her and he knew he wanted to hold her forever. He watched as her black lashes flutter to open, revealing wide chocolate eyes.

Rin opened her eyes and blinked several times to clear away the blurry vision. She felt that she was being held up and looked to find a familiar face staring back with eyes of sunset and hair of snow. Gasping, she reached up, hoping he was real; her hand came in soft contact, a tear leaked from her eye when she felt him.

"SesshoMaru… you came for me." She whispered and smiled as he smiled softly to her.

"Hai, as I promised. I am sorry I took too long."

Rin frowned, "Too long? It only had been…" She looked around and saw nine familiar but unfamiliar faces of kitsune surrounding her as well. "Ichisune?" She asked as she saw a young man and he nodded. She turned to see the other, "Jirosune, Sansune," She reached out to the twins then turned to the triplet, "Shirosune, Gorosune and Rokusune." By then, she was crying freely, "Oh, Shichisune, Hachisune and Kurosune, you are all grown up… how long?"  
Ichisune bowed his head, "The witch got you with a poisoned apple, and you have been lying there, for nine years. We waited, guarded you, and waited for this day."

Rin turned back to SesshoMaru-sama and saw Tenseiga beside his side and realized he had used it on her once again. She then clasped herself around his neck, hugging him.

SesshoMaru held her until she stopped crying and then wiped her face of tears, "Rin," he whispered, then saw her lips, remembering that he wanted to taste them. He leaned down and brushed his own on her lips, he felt sparks tingles his body and knew she felt the same for she had gasped. Not resisting the urge to taste her mouth, he then gave her the most passionate heady kisses she ever had, and her first one.

Breaking away, needing air, he saw her flushed and caressed her cheek. She had tasted heavenly. He knew then what he wanted, "Rin, be my mate, be with me forever." He whispered, leaning touching his forehead to her.

She felt her breath hitch at the proposal and nodded then he crashed his lips down on her once again, holding her flush to his body. She heard distantly the kitsune cheering around them. Then as they broke away once again, she asked, "Oh SesshoMaru, the boys… I couldn't leave them behind; they're like my own sons." She looked at them with sad eyes.

SesshoMaru looked at them as well, feeling a deep respect for them seeing that they had valiantly protected her for long time. "They can come back with us and live with us in the West."

Rin smiled and turned to Ichisune, "Would you, please?"

Ichisune pursed his lips and glanced around, he was surprised to see his brother's hopeful eyes upon him. He then nodded, "If that what you wish, Rin-mama, we will come with you." He smiled as he saw Rin's face lit up like sun.

Then, that was it; SesshoMaru took them all off to the palace in far west. SesshoMaru took Rin as his mate, bonding her life to his forever, making her the Lady of the West. She was happy, for she found a renewed love in SesshoMaru and all nine of her sons was given honorific as the adopted sons of the West, they had came to view SesshoMaru as their new father and a respected role-model. The entire land of the west came and celebrated SesshoMaru's new territory and mate; they all came to love her as their queen.


	8. Epilogue

Epilogue

Manami, after a month, realized the taiyoukai had not returned to kill him felt relieved and went on with her life. She had heard the rumor that the taiyoukai had taken a mate and the land of the west now has a new queen. The rumor spread far and wide, saying the new queen was the most beautiful woman in all of Japan, it had irked her and she had to ask the mirror once again.

"Kagami, Kagami, in my hands, who in this land of the Nishi is fairest of all?" She asked, watching the mirror fog and clear, revealing the image. She gasped as she saw SesshoMaru holding Rin, their faces happily as they stood with the nine kitsune brothers. Her face grew red and turned sickly green; she gasped over and over, her hands holding tightly on the mirror, her knuckles becoming ghost white. Rage filled inside her, boiling and bubbling.

Then, her rage died as fear rose when she heard the cold voice of the taiyoukai behind her, "I've heard what you had done to my mate." She turned to face him, he stood there, in his hand was the glowing crimson, and she could feel the evil radiating from it.

He stepped farther into her room; his face held a smirk that told her that she should fear him. Standing as she gripped the mirror, she narrowed her eyes at the taiyoukai and spat, "Rin was an infuriation, I am the one who is the fairest of them all, not her! I should be the Queen!"

SesshoMaru snarled, revealing his sharp canine fang, "True beauty comes from the depth of a pure heart. Your beauty is only skin deep." Then with a lightening speed, the sword lit the room with crimson arch. Manami's face froze in horror and her head then toppled from her neck, sliced clean. Her illusionary beauty fell away, revealing an ugly old crone.

SesshoMaru stared in satisfaction and stepped over the head and the fallen body to the mirror and held the sword, "I remember you, Kagami." He then rammed the sword to the mirror's surface, cracking it to thousands of pieces, and then it fell away to dust, disappearing in the soft wind as SesshoMaru left the room.

Then it came to end, the cold taiyoukai Lord of the West learned that it was the heart that held the beauty and humans were capable of it while some weren't. With that lesson, he became the most powerful daimyo taiyoukai in all Japan, uniting human and youkai alike for the change in time that his sister-in-law had foretold.

For he had seen it in InuYasha that changed his life around with Kagome, that he saw it in the nine kitsune brothers who protected Rin with their very lives because they loved her. And lastly, for in himself, that made him the most powerful taiyoukai because he held the promise to Rin through sixteen years of war. It was love that he learned give the most powerful strength, not weakness.

The End


	9. LY's Comment on the Story

Lady Yashodoa'sComment on Rin de Kyuunintai Kitsune- May 6, 2006

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Forgive me, it had not been beta-read or edited by any other but myself and if the grammar is rough, forgive me then. 

I had a severe writer's block for a while and I wanted to try to write a short story. I thought, dreamed and tried to write several stories since I couldn't get back to Road to Damascus. I started with Fire and Water, which I was inspired by Memoir of Geisha. But I didn't finish it and my writer block showed up again. So, I tried to write another story, which will never be finished, The Concubine, which is a Kag/Sess pairing as well.

I then started trying to write, "The Child of West"… There is a possibility that I would finish this story someday, then again, it is tossed aside with many other fan fiction stories that I never finished.

Suddenly, yesterday, yes, on May 5, 2006. An idea struck me, a Snow White tale. I don't remember how it happened but it just came to me, so I set in working this story and thus, it was born. I started out with Rin and the Seven Kitsune, then, I decided to write with nine kitsune and I figured, why not have a romanji title as well, I went on searching for Japanese words and all that, I think I spent more time on researching Japanese language and words than I wrote this story in the last two days. I found a short story of Snow White, by Brother Grimms and decided to base it off from the tale.

You may notice there are exact similarities because it was based straight from the original tale. The Obi replaced bodice lace and the hairpin replaced the comb. The apple stayed the same here; however the approach of the witch to Snow White differs.

I fell in love with this story as much I did with Rin's Waiting and realized, I was obliging my Rin's Waiting reader's wish in writing another story of Rin and SesshoMaru. I am proud and happy to present you this story and hope you all would love it as much you love Rin's Waiting. If you have not read Rin's Waiting, please go and read it, I promise you, you would love it as well.

This story happened to be one of the shortest stories I've ever written in a long time. I fell in habit writing a very long winded fan fiction and had not been able to write a short one until this one. Yay for me!

I wanted to tell you this and give you the definition of the characters' name and how they came to be for this story. Yes, it may be mind boggling that I came up with all of this in two days.

Name Meaning:

I learned, after studying and reading so many fan fictions of Japanese Manga and Anime, I found that Japanese names had special meaning to them, fitting the character's personality. For this story, there were a lot of original characters of mine and I researched to the extent to find the right name for them to fit their personality. Some came by luck.

Rumiko Takahashi's Characters:

SesshoMaru – Killing Perfection, as you all know this. Sessho mean killing while maru is the common suffix to surname or boy's name, meaning Circle, which in loose term mean complete or perfection.

Jaken – I have no idea but I found somewhere his name mean 'cruel'.

Rin – Alternate spelling would be Lin or Lynn, the hiragana of the name mean 'cold'. Which is kind of odd to me, but then again, it fits, Rin did die, therefore she went cold. I suppose.

InuYasha – Dog Demon

Kagome – Woven bamboo pattern

Shippo – Seven Treasure or Tail

Naraku - Hell

Kanna - Godless world

Original Characters:

Hiromaru – This is one name that I came up on the spot and later I researched and discovered, Hiro meant generous, thus, with maru, for completion or perfection, hence his name meant complete generous, which he is in character, a kind man who took Rin in and loved her like his own daughter, he is a very generous man.

Manami – 'love beauty' which I accidentally found and thought it was perfect for her because she was so vain that she loved to be beautiful and it was her main goal in her life to be beautiful.

Huntsman – I have no name for him but he is the same character from the original Snow White story written by the Brother Grimms.

Kagami - In fact, this is an object, the mirror and it is also a name, meaning Mirror as well.

Kyuunintai Kitsune –

I first came up with seven kitsune, as in Seven Dwarves, but then, I thought that kitsune is pretty famous for Nine Tails and decided to go for nine. I then had to figure out their personality, did a quick reference search on the Seven Dwarves and ditched the idea; it was a bit too complicated to pull together nine different personality and different looks. So I decided, knowing that foxes have litters, ranging from one to few pups at a time. Thus, the twins and the triplets were born. Then the idea came to me, the leader, the lone pup would have personality like Peter Pan, taking care of the Lost Boys. It just fit right. The twins, I decided right there that they would be mischievous and two characters came to mind, they are Fred and George Weasely in the body of kitsune boys. The first sets of triplets are sweet and kind, very close bonded together despite their difference in their hair colors. The second and last set of brothers, they are very much like Shippo in personality and size. There, I have the Nine Kitsune Brother, or the Kyuunintai Kitsune.

I juggled the idea of having them all to be boys or some of them to be girls, but my heart was set that they were all boys. Then, I wanted them to have variation in their hair colors and eyes and some of them to be hanyou to give diverstion. That's when I came up that they all had the same father and four different mothers. It is commonly known that kitsune is a sexy devious demon that loves to trick human into having sex with them. Go and look it up, I'm not kidding here.

The words came together to mean 'The Nine Kitsune Brothers', where 'kyuu' mean nine and the 'nintai' was combined since Japanese do not have word for brothers, 'nin' means men and 'tai' mean group, therefore in English, group of men would be brothers.

The nine brothers, they all got their name from numbers with the ending of sune from the form of kit'sune'. Some of the names are not directly from the numbers but the names that the Japanese would name their sons in the order of their birth. The Japanese words for numbers are: Ichi, Ni, San, Shi, Go, Roku, Shichi, Hachi, Kyuu, Juu which is, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and ten. I took form of the names for the sons; Ichiro (first son), Jiro (second son), Saburo (third son), Shiro (fourth son), Goro (fifth son), Rokuro (sixth son), Shichiro (seventh son), Hachiro (eighth son), Kuro (ninth son) and Juro (tenth son). Some of the letters do not match with the number but it meant the number such as –Jiro for second, Sabu for third, Ku for ninth and Ju is also for Juu in ten. Then I have the nine kitsune brothers' names here. Ichisune, Jirosune, Sansune, Shirosune, Gorosune, Rokusune, Shicisune, Hachisune and Kurosune.

Complicated? It takes a while to figure this out.

To satisfy your curiosity, I even have their father and mothers name and feature pinned down. Their father, as in the story mentioned that Ichisune looked every bit like his father did indeed have red hair and green eyes, his name is Keninari, which I took form from Ken for strong and Inari, the famous kitsune goddess in Japanese folklore.

As for their mothers, they do not have names, but their appearance are what gave the boys their looks. For Ichisune, his mother was a kitsune, Keninari's true mate; she had orange hair and green eyes. She died in childbirth with Ichisune. The twins, Jirosune and Sansune are hanyou, their mother was human, when she gave birth to the boys, and she saw they were hanyou and abandoned them, not wanting to deal with hanyou or demon children. Sansune soon became ill after he was born, causing him to be smaller than his brother. She had brown hair and brown eyes.

Shirosune, Gorosune and Rokusune, the first set of triplets are full kitsune; their mother was a stray kitsune with brown hair and blue eyes. When she learned that Keninari had other sons, she abandoned the triplet with him, not wanting to mother full litter of kits on top of her own. And lastly, the last triplet boys, Shichisune, Hachisune and Korosune had human mother, it was not mentioned in the story what happened to her. But I can say this; she died in the village during a war that destroyed the village. The brothers came and found the last triplets. Their mother was a foreigner, with blond hair and blue eyes.

As for Keninari, he was sent to war in the West, which is mentioned and indeed, it was the very war that SesshoMaru fought in for sixteen long years. Keninari was a simple solider serving under SesshoMaru's regiment. SesshoMaru never met Keninari or vice versa, but his name was down in the list.

Thank you for taking your time in reading this story, and allowing me to write this story to break my writer's block. I think I am able to go back to Road to Damascus soon. I'd love to hear your comments, bad or good on this story and please, if it is bad, have some manner, rude remark and brash words has no effect and in the end, you would not achieve your goal because, I'll always keep on writing, as the saying goes, once a writer, always a writer.

Thank you,

Lady Yashodoa


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